ONLY JESUS!
“Therefore He is able also to save to the uttermost (completely, perfectly, finally, and for all time and eternity) those who come to God through Him, since He is always living to make petition to God and intercede with Him and intervene for them.” Hebrews 7:25 (Amplified Version)
When the cloud was lifted that overshadowed Peter, James and John on the Mount of Transfiguration out of which God the Father had spoken the words “This is My beloved Son, hear Him”, they saw only Jesus. No longer in their view were Moses and Elijah. And so, in all matters of our salvation, we see only Jesus. Not Jesus and any of the saints, prophets, apostles, or any one else, living or dead…only Jesus! The Lord Jesus is the only Way, the only Truth and the only Life and no one can approach the Father except through Him (John 14:6). There is no other way available to the world whereby to be saved. Consider these truths.
I. Only Jesus is able to save us!
“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." Acts 4:12 (NIV).
“This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. 1 Timothy 1:15 (NKJV)
Jesus made it indelibly clear regarding the exclusivity of the way to heaven. Jesus said, “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved and will come in and go out and find pasture.” John 10:9 (HCSB). Jesus did not say that He was “a door” but that He was “the door.” There are not many doors that lead to heaven; not many paths that lead to God. There is only one door and only one way to the Father. Man’s only hope is found only in Jesus.
II. Only Jesus is able to keep us eternally secure!
“And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.” John 10:28-29.
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By His great mercy He gave us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, that is, into an inheritance imperishable, undefiled, and unfading. It is reserved in heaven for you, who by God’s power are protected through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 1 Peter 1:3-5 (NET)
The Bible could not be more specific that this. When our Lord Jesus Christ saves us, He saves us for all time and eternity. You cannot make “eternal” mean “temporary” no matter how hard you try. Our salvation is “by grace through faith, and that not of ourselves: it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). If the Lord Jesus saves us but we must keep ourselves saved by continuing good works then our salvation is a “joint venture” between us and Christ. Thus it would be that His blood gets the process started and our good works finish the task. Such a thing would be an insult to the grace of God and in direct contradiction to Ephesians 2:8-9, as well as numerous other passages of Scripture.
Do not misunderstand what I am saying here. Good works in the life of a Christian are tremendously important--- not to save us or to keep us saved---but to evidence our salvation. The child of God is a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17), the workmanship of God created in Christ Jesus for good works (Ephesians 2:10). The Apostle James makes this undeniably clear in chapter 2:14-18. But we must read this passage carefully and thoroughly.
“What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but does not have works? Can this kind of faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, keep warm and eat well,’ but you do not give them what the body needs, what good is it? So also faith, if it does not have works, is dead being by itself. But someone will say, ‘You have faith and I have works. Show me your faith without works and I will show faith by my works.” James 2:14-18 (NET)
III. Only Jesus is able to sustain us!
“Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you; He will never permit the righteous to be shaken.” Psalm 55:22.
“And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.” II Corinthians 9:8.
Webster gives several definitions for “sustain” but the first one listed is “to give support or relief to” and it is this definition that is embodied in David’s declaration. We must first get rid of the burden that so greatly hinders, limits or troubles us. That is accomplished when we cast our burden on the Lord. When we do that, the Psalmist assures us that the Lord will sustain (“give support or relief to”) us.
IV. Only Jesus is able to present us before the Father!
“To Him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before His (the Father’s) glorious presence without fault and with great joy,” Jude 24
“Yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him (the Father) holy and blameless and beyond reproach-- if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard.” Colossians 1:21b-23a (NASB)
How wonderful is the thought that when we pass this life we will not have to introduce ourselves to the Father; we will be introduced to the Father by our Lord Jesus Christ.
